


Iwatobi Music Club

by Starfruit



Category: Free!
Genre: AU, Band, Cute, Fluff, Music
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-19
Updated: 2013-09-20
Packaged: 2017-12-27 00:45:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/972322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starfruit/pseuds/Starfruit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In elementary school, Rin joined the music club to discover that Nagisa's drum, Makoto's bass, and Haru's voice all go well with his guitar-playing! But after a falling out at a performance, he leaves Iwatobi. Now in high school, Haru and Makoto find out that Nagisa wants to start up their old band again, but they need a guitarist before they can enter the battle of the bands! Maybe Rin will... but what's this? He's started his own band?!</p><p>There will probably be pairings at some point, either one-sided, established, or implied. I don't know yet ;^;</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Useful Good-For-Nothings

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter is them in elementary! The cuties!

“Wow!” The club members exclaimed as they gathered around the redheaded transfer student. 

With precision and finesse, the new guy smoothly played note after note of an unknown yet catchy tune on the electric guitar. Despite having no clue what he was playing, all could tell that he carried out with skill and that he hadn’t missed a beat. The last note was low and held for a while bringing the song to its end. 

The club was stunned, pausing before showering the redhead with praise, applause, and questions.

“Where did you learn to play like that?”

“How long have you been learning guitar?”

“What song was that? It was so cool!”

The transfer kid grinned and rubbed his nose cheekily as he laughed, “Wasn’t it? My dad wrote that song!”

As he went on about how his father taught him everything he knows, Makoto leaned over to his best friend and said, “He’s really good, don’t you think?”

Haruka didn’t reply.

♪♪♪

Rin was settling into the school nicely, he especially enjoyed hanging out in the music club even when the sounds became chaotic and eclectic. He loved running from instrument to instrument just to try it out, feeling for the sounds and notes, connecting with the unfamiliar noise. He liked writing lyrics with the other students and making parodies of classics. But he felt most at peace when he got to strum out on the guitar and everyone stopped to listen. To him, there was nothing closer to heaven.

There were two boys who bothered him in class though, they were usually very eager to help set up and put everything away, but something about them never really participating bothered Rin. Just once, he would’ve like to see them pick up a maraca or grab the xylophone, hell, even just tapping on the triangle would’ve seemed like something to Rin. But no. Those two, he thinks their names were Makoto and Haru, just sat in the corner, clapping to the beat and complimenting their classmates.

♪♪♪

“So!” Their teacher, Goro Sasabe, began announcing. “We want to show off our very best for the culture festival! The performance will showcase different genres. Group up and form different bands so you can show off all your cool styles!”

The club replied with shouts of happiness. Almost immediately, Rin was surrounded.

“Are you gonna be the guitarist for a rock band?”  


“I wanna join!”  


“Aw, I only know guitar, I can’t be in Rin-kun’s band!”  


Rin stroked the back of his neck, beaming and saying, “Now, now, I don’t even know if I want to form a rock band. Who knows what I’ll do!”

♪♪♪

“Good work today, everyone!” Sasabe bellowed. “Time to clean up!”  


“Haru and I can do it all, sensei,” Makoto said raising his hand and smiling. “So everyone can go home.”  


Sasabe pat Makoto on the head as the other students began grabbing their things and filing out the room. “Ah, Mako-chan, Haru-chan, so kind as always!”  


Haru scowled at the –chan added onto his name, but said nothing to the teacher. Rin scoffed at the pair’s offer to clean up once again, even though they hadn’t touched any of the instruments strolled about the room.  


“Oh, Rin-kun!” Sasabe said just as the boy was picking up his things. “Will you do me a favor and take this paper to the office?”  


Rin grabbed the sheet and nodded, strolling out the classroom door. Somehow, all the way there and back, he couldn’t get the thought of the couple of annoyances in the club. Why did they even join he wondered. If they had no passion for music, then shouldn’t they just leave? Go join the tea club, he thought to himself, bursting into an embarrassing lonely laughter.

♪♪♪

Holding up his usual swagger, Rin sauntered back to the room, unable to stop thinking about practicing when he gets home so that he can show those useless club members what real music is at the culture fest performance. His hand was on the doorknob to the classroom when he heard it –- this life-changing sound. It was a glorious mixture of the deep strings of a bass guitar and a light voice singing lyrics in such a beautiful way that, for a second, Rin didn’t know what to do with himself. He could feel the words slip into his ears, roll to the pit of his stomach, and spread through his heart. Tears weld up in his eyes, he had heard this song before, but not like this.  


“ _‘Mou daijoubu da yo’ to_  
 _Nando mo kurikaeshite_  
 _Chiisaku furueteru kimi ni_  
 _Sonna kotoba shika ienai keredo~_ ” The beautiful voice sang into the empty school.  


Rin wiped his eyes and put on a face of resolution. He didn’t know who was playing that bass or singing that song, but he one thing he knew for sure was that they would play in his band for the culture fest and show up those quiet, good-for-nothing clean up losers…  


…who he opened the door to see were totally the ones playing the bass and singing. Makoto had his eyes closed, bobbing his head to the rhythm as he strummed away at the thick string of the electric bass. Sitting on the stool next to his own, Haru soulfully belted out the chorus.  


“ _Itsudatte kimi dake wa kawaranai de soba ni ite_  
 _Boku no ude de dakishimeta toki kara_  
 _Kono yokan ni kizuita kara~_ ”  


Rin’s eyes widened as he stared at the unexpected scene. Though the raven-haired kid could’ve chosen a better song choice for his range and the green-eyed boy’s bass didn’t particularly fit the mood of the song completely, Rin felt completely moved. If each at their full power, everyone would become amazed by the elementary-schoolers talents!  


Without a word, Rin rushed to the guitar, plugged it in, and flawlessly began playing alongside them. The addition flowed so well that Makoto and Haru weren’t even thrown off, instead their performance improved and they finished the song in a better place than they started. It wasn’t until then that Rin spoke.  


“Hey,” he said, grinning and pointing his guitar at the formerly useless students. “Let’s perform together.”  


Haru and Makoto only took a moment to glance at each other before Haru simply answered, “No.”  


“Huh?” Rin gasped.  


Makoto cocked his head to the side with a slight frown. “Haru doesn’t like going in front of crowds.”  


“What?” Rin hollered, putting his hands on his hips. “So you keep that wonderful voice locked up in this room?”  


“I sing in the shower too,” Haru stated with Makoto nodding in agreement.  


“I didn’t need to know that!” Rin shouted back, face red as his hair. “Look! Our styles match perfectly! What just happened here was a miracle! You don’t meet others you can play that well with every day you know.”  


Haru scooted on his stool to face Makoto, back towards Rin, making Makoto giggle.  


“Is this guy super shy or something?” Rin asked Makoto.  


“Um, I guess. Maybe it’s something like that?” Makoto muttered, plucking thoughtlessly at the bass strings.  


Rin glared at Haru, hoping he could feel the intensity in his next words. 

“Okay, whatever!” Rin spouted. “But you have to admit we just played really well together! If you want a sound even more amazing, form a band for the culture fest with me!” He then put the guitar back in its proper spot, snatched up his bag, and stormed off.  


Not turning around, Haru peeked back to see an empty room, then looked down the floor. He guessed he would think about it. Makoto smiled, believing his friend would make the right decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Haru sung was Gackt's Kimi No Tame Ni Dekiru Koto.


	2. Free

“Please, Rin-chan, I promise not to mess up!” Nagisa begged, drumsticks clutched in his hands. He cornered Rin with tears leaking unceremoniously from his eyes. “I really want to play with you, Mako-chan, and Haru-chan! Please!” 

Feeling awkward, Rin barked, “F-fine! You can play with us! Do your best!”

Nagisa quickly put on his brightest smile and nodded. There wasn’t many options for drummers anyway. It was between Nagisa, a kid two years younger than the blond, and a drummer who’s main reason for being in the club was being around the girl he liked. Out of the three, Nagisa had the best combination of drive and experience.

♪♪♪

“What song should we play?” Makoto asked at a club meeting, a notebook on his lap and pen in his hand to jot down song suggestions. They sat around a desk, trying to work out some of the mechanics of the group and performance.

“Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin!” Rin shouted. 

“An English song?” Haru mumbled, staring downwards. 

“Ah, you have to remember Haru’s singing,” Makoto explained, “So something like that might be impossible for him…”

Nagisa thought for a second then I exclaimed, “Bonnie Pink’s It’s Gonna Rain! I love that son—”

“No way! That’s for girls!” Rin interrupted. “We need to something with force!”

“Dir en grey’s Obscure…” Haru suggested quietly. 

“Too much force!” Rin retorted then looking to Makoto with crossed arms. “Just what are his music tastes anyway?”

“Diverse, I suppose…?” Makoto replied, tapping the pen to his lip. Then Nagisa let out a gasp that made them all jump and Makoto drop his pen. 

“I have an idea!” The youngest of the band said, finger in the air. He then pointed to their teacher who raised an eyebrow. “Let’s have Sasabe-chan help us make our own song!” 

“That’s a great idea!” Rin agreed. 

“Are you sure we can do all that in time?” Makoto asked.

“Of course!” Rin promised. He crossed his arms once again and stood. “We just need hope, perseverance, and luck! We’ll each come up with our own parts then have Sasabe-sensei look over and edit it. Nanase, you can write the lyrics.”

Haru stared at Rin for a moment then looked away. It seemed to be a sign of approval. 

“Alright then, we’re set!” Rin announced. 

“Yahoo!” Nagisa called out as Makoto smiled at his friends. 

Sasabe Gorou was taken aback and smacked Rin on the back of the head. “What are you saying before I’ve agreed?!”

♪♪♪

From then on, most nights the boys went home to work on their creating their parts. They’d bring their pieces to Sasabe the next day and get both scolded and complimented. He’d then change things and make suggestions before handing back their papers and saying, “Work harder.”

Everyone was a bit surprised at the effort even Haru was putting into the song, making good of Sasabe’s advice to add in some English. “It sounds cool and will flow well, just work hard at it,” the strange teacher had explained, jotting down the words he thought should be put in.

♪♪♪

As the culture festival approached, Rin told the other band members of a realization he had.

“The song won’t be a full three minutes,” Rin said solemnly. “But what we’ll have will be really good!”

“If we had more time and experience,” Nagisa said. “I’m sure we’d be able to impress people even more!” 

“I’m so excited! It’s almost time,” Makoto shivered with anticipation. “Imagine when everyone will yell out our band name!”

A long, deep silence fell over the group before Rin and Nagisa made loud cries of shock. 

“We don’t have a band name!” Rin grasped finally after all this time. “We need a band name!”

“The Rockhopper Penguins!”

“How about [KILLER WHALES]?” 

“If we’re going with an animal then it needs to be something tough and cool like Hohojirozame!” 

“DolPin…”

The four members of the group hung their heads low, acknowledging that they would probably never think of a group name together. Sasabe was walking by with rolled up sheets of music when he overheard their conversation. He gave each of them a whack on the head then a pep talk. 

“Don’t be down over something as foolish as a name! All you need to do is connect over the music and the name will come!” He said before shuffling off to correct a kid sloppily playing the keyboard. 

“Alright!” Rin said, slamming his hand down onto the desk they had once again gathered around. “We each write our feelings on music and come up with a name from that!” 

“Yes!” Makoto and Nagisa agreed. Haru nodded.

♪♪♪

As Rin jotted down ideas for the title of their band at home, he found himself doodling images of him standing center stage, the crowd chanting his name. He snickered, imaging a time when he’d be plastered on magazines as the world’s most amazing guitarist. Kids would ask for him to sign their guitars and his old ones would be sell for big money online. He’d peel off slick solos in front of his adoring fans. Amazed by his talent, the whole audience would echo “Rin! Rin! Rin!”

His cheeks hurt from smiling at his fantasies. He continued to write down his thoughts. Yes, his dreams would come true. He’d keep playing at his best. For himself, his future fans, his band, and his dad.

♪♪♪

“It’s fun and there’s so much you can do with it!”

“It unites people. It’s worldwide.”

“Powerful! There’s something about music that packs a punch!”

“Could Punch be our band name?” “Or maybe Fun United?” “Worldwide Power?”

“Ah, wait,” Makoto said, pausing their thought process and turning to his best friend. “Haru didn’t say his.”

Now the blond and redhead turned to the raven-haired child, staring at him impatiently with raised eyebrows. The other three band members sat in silence, watching Haru, waiting. Then just when the quiet was getting to unbearable, he spoke up. 

“Free.”

“Huh?” the bandmates responded, heads tilting to the side. 

“When I sing,” Haru explained. “and write my lyrics and not just hear, but experience the words… when those things happen… I feel Free.”

Nagisa beamed like never before and Makoto’s joy was written all over his face. Placing his fists on his hips, Rin grinned. 

“Then there it is.”

♪♪♪

Makoto shivered so badly that it looked like his bass was vibrating. Haru placed a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. This small movement calmed Makoto’s nerves and allowed him to settle down a bit.

But who could blame him for being so nervous? This was their big day. They had worked long and hard to produce this one song to show everyone just what this group of elementary school kids could do. And this was just the beginning. 

If they did well. 

As another set of members of the music club performed a traditional song, the Free boy waited anxiously for their turn to go. They were each clearly on edge. 

Sasabe was watching the current show when he noticed Nagisa’s pacing. He smiled in a father-like way at this, knowing just what would mend their worries. He tapped Rin on the shoulder and leaned down to the surprised boy. 

“I think some words of inspiration would good right about now.”

Rin nodded at their teacher and huddled his group up. 

“Listen, you guys!” he started off. “We’ve been working really hard on this song and practicing pretty much every day. We know this thing forwards and backwards. There’s really nothing more to do than show it off at this point! We’re gonna be awesome!”

“How do you know?” Makoto wondered. 

“Because we’ve got me and my guitar going up there!” Rin grinned even wider. “My dad was a great guitar player, the best around! Truly the star of Iwatobi! He taught me everything I know. But he always said that he wouldn’t have gotten the chance to have so much fun playing if it weren’t for his team. With my skills passed on from my pop, Nagisa’s beat, Makoto’s bass, and Haru’s voice… how could we possibly fail?”

“And now presenting… Iwatobi Elementary’s very own rock band… Free!” 

Rin broke the huddle to face the stage. “Yes! That’s us!” He grabbed his guitar and ran off. 

Nagisa gulped, picked up his drumsticks, gave his face a couple slaps, then followed after the redhead. 

Makoto placed his bass strap on his shoulder with a sigh then looked to Haru before they both took to the stage together. 

It was the first and the last time that the four’s talent’s melded into one magnificent sound – one so spectacular, Haru swore he’d never heard anything like it.


End file.
